Buddhist Verses & Silent Readings For Reflection (静思语） - Part 6

[AUTUMN&WINTER]

I don't agree with this thinking.

How, as a 凡夫, can we fully understand right and wrong, good and bad in what we can see now and the future ? Remember the 了凡 story 点铁成金 ? And I believe most of us are at the state where we don't have the wisdom to know. We probably could make a better decision than non-buddhist when it comes to buddhist perspective of right and wrong. But ultimately, we have the 3 poisons that lead us on the wrong path.

I think the keys in asking is 如理如法. Short of being so learned and cultivated in buddhism, I believe (this is my opinion), that we can still ask for help but not ask for things or the outcome. We should not ask for a particular outcome but let 佛菩萨 "decide" the outcome for us. 命里有时终需有. 命里无时末强求. But I'm quite sure the help will come but it may not be what our very limited minds picture it to be.

In Red, I don't agree with this too, esp this. Why ? If we don't 如理如法 and have expectations of the outcome, it's not 佛菩萨 not giving us what we want, 魔 can come in and fulfil our wishes (I think recently I wrote something on this) and lead us on the wrong path. If you have a "want", our hearts are opened to temptations.

Buddhism 101 always teaches us to 放下. As we progress in Buddhism, sometimes we forget. Good to remember 老法师's:

真诚清净平等正觉慈悲，看破放下自在随缘念佛

南无阿弥陀佛

As Buddhists, we should follow Buddha's teachings to know what is wholesome and unwholesome. If not, how to practice the Dharma without knowing wholesome and unwholesome deeds? It's ok that our wish is wrong, Pusa will know and will not grant your wish if it's unwholesome. One needs to have merits to have your wish come true. 魔 is unable to meddle with 念佛人.

 

[scheng1]

胜天王般若波罗蜜经第三卷
法性品第五

https://www.xinjingjy.com/stwbrj/671.html

佛告胜天王言：“大王，譬如日月照四天下而无分别‘我照天下为作光明’，

众生业报自感日月光照天下。

菩萨摩诃萨行般若波罗蜜亦复如是，虽现化身而无分别。何以故?众生各有宿世善业。

菩萨摩诃萨昔从因地修行发愿为度众生，以此愿力随其所念，皆悉应现无分别心。

 

[waterbright]

Thag 16:4 Raṭṭhapāla — The verses of the monk whom the Buddha praised as foremost among his monk disciples in going forth through conviction.

The verses here fall into three sections, with the first two relating to Raṭṭhapāla’s story as told in MN 82. In the first, Raṭṭhapāla is addressing his father after the latter had tried to use wealth and Raṭṭhapāla’s former wives to lure Ratthapala into disrobing. In the second section, Raṭṭhapāla is talking to King Koravya, who had asked him why he had ordained when he was still young and healthy, and had suffered no loss of relatives or wealth.

The third section of verses here does not occur in MN 82.

Look at the image beautified,

a heap of festering wounds, shored up:

ill, but the object

of many resolves,

where there is nothing

lasting or sure. (1)

Look at the form beautified

with earrings & gems:

a skeleton wrapped in skin,

made attractive with clothes.

Feet reddened with henna,

a face smeared with powder:

enough to deceive a fool,

but not a seeker for the further shore.

Hair plaited in eight pleats,

eyes smeared with unguent:

enough to deceive a fool,

but not a seeker for the further shore.

Like a newly painted unguent pot—

a putrid body adorned:

enough to deceive a fool,

but not a seeker for the further shore.

The hunter set out the snares,

but the deer didn’t go near the trap.

Having eaten the bait,

we go,

leaving the hunters

to weep.

The hunter’s snares are broken;

the deer didn’t go near the trap.

Having eaten the bait,

we go,

leaving the hunters

to grieve. (2)

* * *

I see in the world

people with wealth

who, from delusion,

don’t make a gift

of the treasure they’ve gained.

Greedy, they stash it away,

hoping for even more

sensual pleasures.

A king who, by force,

has conquered the world

and rules over the earth

to the edge of the sea,

dissatisfied with the ocean’s near shore,

longs for the ocean’s

far shore as well.

Kings & others

—plenty of people—

go to death with craving

unabated. Unsated,

they leave the body behind,

having not had enough

of the world’s sensual pleasures.

One’s relatives weep

& pull out their hair.

‘Oh woe, our loved one is dead,’ they cry.

Carrying him off,

wrapped in a piece of cloth,

they place him

on a pyre,

then set him on fire.

So he burns, poked with sticks,

in just one piece of cloth,

leaving all his possessions behind.

They are not shelters for one who has died—

not relatives,

friends,

or companions.

Heirs take over his wealth,

while the being goes on,

in line with his kamma.

No wealth at all

follows the dead one—

not children, wives,

dominion, or riches.

Long life

can’t be gotten with wealth,

nor aging

warded off with treasure.

The wise say this life

is next to nothing—

impermanent,

subject to change.

The rich & the poor

touch the touch of Death.

The foolish & wise

are touched by it, too.

But while fools lie as if slain by their folly,

the wise don’t tremble

when touched by the touch.

Thus the discernment by which

one attains to mastery,

is better than wealth—

for those who haven’t reached mastery

go from existence to existence,

out of delusion,

doing bad deeds.

One goes to a womb

& to the next world,

falling into the wandering on

—one thing

after another—

while those of weak discernment,

trusting in one,

also go to a womb

& to the next world.

Just as an evil thief

caught at the break-in

is destroyed

by his own act,

so evil people

—after dying, in the next world—

are destroyed

by their own acts.

Sensual pleasures—

variegated,

enticing,

sweet—

in various ways disturb the mind.

Seeing the drawbacks in sensual objects:

that’s why, O king, I went forth.

Just like fruits, people fall

—young & old—

at the break-up of the body.

Knowing this, O king,

I went forth.

The contemplative life is better

for sure. (3)

* * *

Out of conviction,

I went forth

equipped with the Victor’s message.

Blameless (4) was my going-forth:

Debtless I eat my food.

Seeing sensuality as burning,

gold as a knife,

pain in the entry into the womb

& great danger in hells—

seeing this peril, I was then dismayed—

pierced (with dismay),

then calmed

on attaining the end of the effluents.

The Teacher has been served by me;

the Awakened One’s bidding,

done;

the heavy load, laid down;

the guide to becoming, (5) uprooted.

And the goal for which I went forth

from home life into homelessness

I’ve reached:

the end

of all fetters.

Notes

1. This verse = Dhp 147.

2. This verse is not contained in MN 82.

3. The verses in MN 82 end here.

4. Avajjā. The Burmese and Sinhalese editions of the Pali Canon read avañjhā, or “not barren.”

5. The guide to becoming is craving.

 

[scheng1]

Ud 4:5 The Bull Elephant (Nāga Sutta)

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Kosambī at Kosita’s monastery. And on that occasion the Blessed One lived hemmed in with monks, nuns, male & female lay followers, kings, royal ministers, sectarians, & their disciples. Hemmed in, he lived unpleasantly and not in ease. The thought occurred to him: “I now live hemmed in by monks, nuns, male & female lay followers, kings, royal ministers, sectarians, & their disciples. Hemmed in, I live unpleasantly and not in ease. What if I were to live alone, apart from the crowd?”

So, early in the morning, the Blessed One adjusted his under robe and–carrying his bowl & robes–went into Kosambī for alms. Then, having gone for alms in Kosambī, after the meal, returning from his alms round, he set his own lodgings in order and, carrying his bowl & robes, without telling his attendant, without informing the community of monks–alone & without a companion–left on a wandering tour toward Palileyyaka. After wandering by stages, he reached Palileyyaka. There he stayed in Palileyyaka in the protected forest grove at the root of the auspicious sal tree.

It so happened that a certain bull elephant was living hemmed in by elephants, cow-elephants, calf-elephants, & baby elephants. He fed off grass with cut-off tips. They chewed up his stash of broken-off branches. He drank disturbed water. And when he came up from his bathing-place, cow-elephants went along, banging up against his body. Hemmed in, he lived unpleasantly and not in ease. The thought occurred to him: “I now live hemmed in by elephants, cow-elephants, calf-elephants, & baby elephants. I feed off grass with cut-off tips. They chew up my stash of broken-off branches. I drink disturbed water. And when I come up from my bathing place, cow-elephants go along, banging up against my body. Hemmed in, I live unpleasantly and not in ease. What if I were to live alone, apart from the crowd?”

So the bull elephant, leaving the herd, went to Palileyyaka, to the protected forest grove and the root of the auspicious sal tree–to where the Blessed One was staying. There he kept the grass down in the area where the Blessed One was staying, and brought drinking water and washing water for the Blessed One with his trunk.

Then, when the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, this train of thought appeared to his awareness: “Before, I lived hemmed in by monks, nuns, male & female lay followers, kings, royal ministers, sectarians, & their disciples. Hemmed in, I lived unpleasantly and not in ease. But now I live not hemmed in by monks, nuns, male & female lay followers, kings, royal ministers, sectarians, & their disciples. Not hemmed in, I live pleasantly and in ease.”

And this train of thought appeared to the awareness of the bull elephant, “Before, I lived hemmed in by elephants, cow-elephants, calf-elephants, & baby elephants. I fed off grass with cut-off tips. They chewed up my stash of broken-off branches. I drank disturbed water. And when I came up from my bathing place, cow-elephants went along, banging up against my body. Hemmed in, I lived unpleasantly and not in ease. But now I live not hemmed in by elephants, cow-elephants, calf-elephants, & baby elephants. I feed off grass with uncut tips. They don’t chew up my stash of broken-off branches. I drink undisturbed water. When I come up from my bathing place, cow-elephants don’t go along, banging up against my body. Not hemmed in, I live pleasantly and in ease.” (1)

Then the Blessed One, realizing his own seclusion and knowing the train of thought in the bull elephant’s awareness, on that occasion exclaimed:

This

harmonizes

mind with mind–

the great one’s with the great one’s (2) –

the elephant with tusks like chariot poles:

that each finds joy,

alone,

in the forest.

From wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhu_Purnima

Modhu Purnima (Bengali: মধু পূর্ণিমা, lit. 'honey full-moon') also known as Honey Full Moon Festival or Honey-offering Festival is a Buddhist festival celebrated in Bangladesh by the Barua and Chakma people of Chittagong and by the Mon people of Thailand. It occurs on the day of the full moon in the Bangla month of Bhadro (August/September).

The day commemorates an occasion on which the Buddha retreated to the wilderness of Parileyya forest to bring peace between two quarrelling factions of disciples. According to legend, a monkey and an elephant named Parileyyaka fed him during this time, the elephant bringing fruit and the monkey bringing a honeycomb. The monkey was so excited when the Buddha accepted his gift that he began leaping from tree to tree and fell to his death. However, he was immediately reborn in Tavatimsa as a result of his generosity.

On this day, the Bhikkhus of Kosambi ended the disunity in their ranks and went to the Buddha in the forest to take a vow of unity and cooperation. In his sermon, Buddha pointed to the elephant and said, "This elephant lives alone in the forest in the absence of a proper partner. If you do not get associates with wisdom and high thoughts, it is better to live alone in this world, for foolish associates will only increase your suffering."

After the rains retreat the monks who had split into two groups agreed to make up their differences because the local lay people were not making any offerings to them. The monks sent a representative to see the Buddha and invite him to go back to the city.

The elephant palilayaka was heartbroken to see the Buddha go, and followed him out of the forest, and even made as if he would follow the Buddha into the city. The Buddha turned to him and said, "Palilayaka. This is the limits of your territory. From here on is the territory of man, which are a great danger to animals such as you. You cannot come with me! Palilayaka the elephant stood and roared in grief, but did not dare follow the Buddha. As soon as the Buddha was out of sight, his heart broke and he died right there. The texts state that the elephant and the monkey, after dying at that time, were reborn as devas in the Tavatimsa heaven.

[This story is linked to the Wednesday Night Buddha story https://web.archive.org/web/20080319080236/http://www.fjnet.com/english/society/t20061117_41041.htm]

 

[AUTUMN&WINTER]

NAMO AMITUOFO 南无阿弥陀佛

You don't understand that a moment's action arising from anger is worse than a hundred actions arising from desire.

– Padampa Sangye

When a thought arises, it brings another with it, and then another, in an endless sequence. It is this chain which has deceived us from beginningless time, and if we do not break it, it will continue to deceive us in the future.

~ Dudjom Rinpoche

 

[Vezelover]

南无阿弥陀佛

May all sentient beings be free of suffering

 

[heymee]

 

[scheng1]

胜天王般若波罗蜜经第三卷
法性品第五

https://www.xinjingjy.com/stwbrj/671.html

尔时，众中有一天子，名曰光德，即从座起，偏袒右肩，右膝著地，合掌向佛，头面作礼白佛言：“世尊，诸佛菩萨应游净土，娑婆世界是不清净，云何世尊出现此土?”

尔时，佛告光德天子：“诸佛如来所居之处无有秽土。”

于是，世尊即以神力现此三千大千世界，地平如掌琉璃所成，无诸山陵堆阜荆蕀，处处宝聚香华软草，流泉浴池八功德水，七宝阶砌树木华果，咸说菩萨不退法轮，无有凡夫唯见十方诸大菩萨，不闻余音唯闻般若波罗蜜声，处处莲华大如车轮，青红赤白一一华中，皆有菩萨结跏趺坐，即见如来于大众中，为诸菩萨说甚深法，无量百千释梵护世，前后围绕供养恭敬，尊重赞叹：“希有，世尊!希有，世尊!所说无虚真实不二，如世尊说诸佛住处实无秽土，众生薄福而见不净。世尊，若有善男子、善女人，得闻般若波罗蜜名字甚为希有，况复书写、受持读诵、为他演说!”

佛言：“若善男子、善女人，无量百千劫以无碍心施他财物;若复有人以净信心，书写此经传授与人，功德多彼。何以故?财施有竭，法施无尽。何以故?施财但能得世间果，若人、若天昔已曾得，得已堕落今还复得。若以法施昔来未得，今始能得所谓涅槃。

 

[scheng1]

Lyrics:
点一盏明灯，
燃希望之火，
照亮黑暗的每一个角落，
远离迷惘，
解开疑惑，
海天任遨游，
阿弥陀佛，
阿弥陀佛，
欢喜自在心开阔，
不沾尘埃，
菩提静坐，
开莲花一朵朵。

 

[AUTUMN&WINTER]

NAMO AMITUOFO 南无阿弥陀佛

One who really wants to practice Pure Land should not consult others. He should only ask himself how serious he is about Birth and Death. If he is as serious about ending Birth and Death as he is about extinguishing a fire on his head, then he must resolve to devote all his energies to solving this problem.

To forgive others is to be good to yourself - Venerable Cheng Yen

Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you, as the wheels of the oxcart follow the footsteps of the ox. Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a pure mind, happiness will follow you, as a shadow clings to a form.

Knowing that the other person is angry,
one who remains mindful and calm
acts for one's own best interest
and for the other's interest, too.

Saṃyutta Nikāya

"When we meditate on mindfulness of feelings, we keep in mind that the feelings arises dependent upon contact.
As contact changes, the feelings also change.
When we experience pleasant feelings,
we think, "This is a pleasant feeling.
It has arisen depending on these factors.
When these factors disappear, this pleasant feeling will also disappear."
We do the same for the unpleasant feeling or a neutral feeling.
We don't do anything to control our feelings or make them change.
We only notice that our feelings are changing.
Each feeling arises due to causes and conditions and slips away.
The mind cannot hold on to what we are experiencing and naturally lets it go.
What else can it do? Nothing!" '

 

[waterbright]

Thag 16:7 Bhaddiya Kāligodhāyaputta — After abandoning his wealth and royal position, Ven. Bhaddiya follows the ascetic practices.

These verses contain the Canon’s only complete list of the thirteen ascetic (dhutaṅga) practices. Bhaddiya’s story is told in Ud 2:10.

Whatever the fine clothes I wore

when astride the elephant’s neck,

whatever the fine rice I ate, the pure meat sauce,

today—fortunate, persevering,

delighting in whatever falls into his bowl,

Bhaddiya, son of Godhā,

does jhāna without clinging.

Wearing cast-off cloth, persevering,

delighting in whatever falls into his bowl,

Bhaddiya, son of Godhā,

does jhāna without clinging.

Going for alms, persevering,

delighting in whatever falls into his bowl,

Bhaddiya, son of Godhā,

does jhāna without clinging.

Wearing only one triple set of robes, persevering…

Bypassing no donors on his alms round, persevering…

Eating only one meal a day, persevering…

Eating from the bowl, persevering…

Refusing food brought afterwards, persevering…

Living in the wilderness, persevering…

Living at the foot of a tree, persevering…

Living in the open air, persevering…

Living in a cemetery, persevering…

Accepting whatever lodging he’s assigned, persevering,

Not lying down, persevering,

delighting in whatever falls into his bowl,

Bhaddiya, son of Godhā,

does jhāna without clinging.

Modest, persevering…

Content, persevering…

Secluded, persevering…

Unentangled, persevering…

Energy aroused, persevering,

delighting in whatever falls into his bowl,

Bhaddiya, son of Godhā,

does jhāna without clinging.

Abandoning a 100-carat bowl of bronze

and a 100-weight bowl of gold,

I took instead a bowl of clay:

That was my second consecration.

In the midst of high encircling walls,

strong battlements & gates,

guarded by men with swords in hand—

trembling

I used to live.

Today, fortunate, unafraid,

with fear & terror abandoned,

Bhaddiya, son of Godhā,

having plunged into the forest,

does jhāna.

Standing firm in the aggregate of virtue,

developing mindfulness & discernment,

step by step I attained

the ending of all fetters.

 

[AUTUMN&WINTER]

Interesting Dharma talk on aliens.

 

[scheng1]

马云：越想赚钱的人，就越赚不到钱！

17年過去了！馬雲，看看你在疫情下幹的那些好事！

About 马云 and Buddhism

https://www.sohu.com/a/203240263_561551

马云是不是佛教徒众说不一，但马云喜欢佛教思想确是事实。

在一次讲座中，对于怎样拜佛，马云讲了自己的看法：

不要在周末去烧香，那个时候所有人都去庙里烧香；

不要有了困难去求菩萨保佑，菩萨每天都收到无数人的请愿，我们该求菩萨的平安，“你好了，大家才都好”；

不要去灵隐寺普陀寺这种大庙，去那种小庙，因为大庙香火已经够旺了，小庙没人去，你去小庙捐香火就是在帮菩萨；

不要在天气好的时候去，要在刮风下雨下雪的时候去，那个时候别人都不去了，你去敬佛拜佛，菩萨会感到暖心的。

马云的外婆一直很信佛，经常要去寺庙拜佛。“如果路过庙我也会进去，95年我做互联网，到西雅图找合作伙伴的时候，那时特别郁闷，那一年特别艰难，人家都把我当骗子看。”外婆住的附近有一座非常小的寺庙，没有什么香火。

1997年，有一天人家叫他到农村的破庙去，当时下很大的雨，很破的庙在山上，庙里有一个比丘尼，她在山上呆了好多年，当时马云陪外婆去烧香，看庙里非常破陋，于是拿出100元把庙里所有的蜡烛香火都点燃了。老尼师让马云摇了一个签，“签上前面讲的我什么什么下凡我不记得了，就记得最后说我今年会张骞远行”。

“我觉得不太可能，我就把这张签放钱包里了。”马云一直带着这个签，那一年，马云中国黄页在杭州做得非常艰难，忽然接到外经贸部邀请，整个团队在12月全部迁到了北京。马云贱卖了中国黄页仅收回10万左右投资。但他到北京后，开发打造了外经贸部官方网站、网上中国商品交易市场等一系列网站，正式投身电商领域。2年后，马云创造了阿里巴巴。

 

[AUTUMN&WINTER]

NAMO AMITUOFO 南无阿弥陀佛

The rebirth path is dark, long, lonely and suffering.We can only rely on Namo Amituofo to guide us and liberate us from rebirth in samsara.

When we vow to be born in Amitabha's Pure Land, we are demonstrating our disgust with the mundane world, and our joy in the Pure Land.

In feeling aversion to the mundane world, we are relying on the first two Noble Truths [the truth of suffering, and the truth of the formation of suffering], and taking two of the great vows of Bodhisattvas [to deliver all sentient beings from suffering, and to cut off countless afflictions].

In joyously seeking the Pure Land, we are relying on the other two Noble Truths [the truth of the path, and the truth of ending suffering], and taking the other two great vows of Bodhisattvas [to master the endless variety of Buddhist teaching, and to consummate the Supreme Path]. By doing this we reach the stage where we do not fall back from the path of Great Enlightenment.

Mind-Seal of the Buddhas
Patriarch Ou-i's Commentary on the
Amitabha Sutra

"External conditions don’t make you suffer, suffering arises from wrong understanding. Feelings of pleasure and pain, like and dislike, arise from sense-contact - you must catch them as they arise, not follow them, not giving rise to craving and attachment - which is in turn causing mental birth and becoming."

Ajahn Chah

"The ordinary untrained mind knows in accordance with its preferences, not in accordance with the truth."

Ajahn Chah

Dukkha is a very important idea in Buddhism as it is vital that Buddhists understand and accept that suffering exists. Buddhists must also strive to end suffering by understanding why people suffer.

Suffering comes from craving things and also from events in a person's life, such as birth, old age and death. People go through various types of suffering. For example:

-People go through emotional pain (eg someone says something that upsets someone else) and physical pain (eg when a person has an injury.)
-In life things don’t stay the same and are always changing, which can cause suffering. For example, some people enjoy it when the sun is shining. If they are outside enjoying the sunshine and the weather changes, this may make them sad.
-People are attached to many different things, including people and material possessions. When they lose these things, they suffer. Buddhists try to realise that people cannot hold on to everything in life as this will bring about suffering.

 

[scheng1]

https://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/PDF_BuddhismCourse/

FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS 四圣谛 - 苦、集、灭、道

https://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/PDF_BuddhismCourse/03_ Four Noble Truths.pdf

1. What are the Four Noble Truths?
After 6 years of strenuous striving in His last life, the Buddha finally realized the Truth when He attained Supreme Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, India. This monumental event happened on the full-moon day of Wesak in 588 BC.

This topic of the “Four Noble Truths” is the very heart and core of Buddhism. These Truths, made known by the Buddha after His Enlightenment, constitute the essence of the Dhamma (Teaching), pervading every aspect and every part of it. The Four Noble Truths are:
a) The Noble Truth of Dukkha or Suffering (Dukkha Sacca)
b) The Noble Truth of the Origin of Dukkha (Samudaya Sacca)
c) The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha (Nirodha Sacca)
d) The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Dukkha
(Magga Sacca)

2. Why are they called Noble Truths?
a) They are truths because they are real and form an incontrovertible fact of life. Whether Buddhas arise or not, they exist in the world. It is the Buddhas who reveal them to mankind.

b) They are called Noble (Ariya) because they were discovered by the Greatest Noble Person i.e. one who is utterly remote from all defilements. Alternatively, they are Noble Truths owing to the establishment of nobleness by the discovery and penetration of them i.e. those who have penetrated the Four Noble Truths are called Ariyas or Noble Ones.

 

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How to Get Better Sleep | A Monk’s Guide

So many people struggle with sleep on a daily basis. In this video, I share some of the wisdom and lessons I learned regarding sleep in the monk life. Just like everything else, it's important to go back to the basics, to incorporate mindfulness, and develop a strong foundation.

5 Tips for Sleep (Timecodes)

0:00 Intro
4:42 The Bedroom is for Sleep
8:09 Have a Consistent Sleep Time
9:10 Make your Bed
12:26 Not Sleeping on a High or Luxurious Bed
14:36 Sleep in a Sea of Merit

 

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Thag 16:8 Aṅgulimāla — The Buddha converts a great bandit.

Aṅgulumāla’s story is told in MN 86.

Aṅgulimāla:

“While walking, contemplative,

you say, ’I have stopped.’

But when I have stopped

you say that I haven’t.

I ask you the meaning of this:

How have you stopped?

How haven’t I?”

The Buddha:

“I have stopped, Aṅgulimāla,

once & for all,

having cast off violence

toward all living beings.

You, though,

are unrestrained toward beings.

That’s how I’ve stopped

and you haven’t.”

Aṅgulimāla:

“At long last a greatly revered great seer

for my sake

has come to the great forest.

Having heard your verse

in line with the Dhamma,

I will go about

having abandoned evil.”

So saying, the bandit

hurled his sword & weapons

over a cliff

into a chasm,

a pit.

Then the bandit paid homage

to the feet of the One Well-Gone,

and right there requested the Going-forth.

The Awakened One,

the compassionate great seer,

the teacher of the world, along with its devas,

said to him then:

“Come, monk.”

That in itself

was monkhood for him.

* * *

Aṅgulimāla:

Who once was heedless,

but later is not,

brightens the world

like the moon set free from a cloud. (1)

His evil-done deed

is replaced with skillfulness:

He brightens the world

like the moon set free from a cloud. (2)

Whatever young monk

devotes himself

to the Buddha’s bidding:

He brightens the world

like the moon set free from a cloud.

May even my enemies

hear talk of the Dhamma.

May even my enemies

devote themselves

to the Buddha’s bidding.

May even my enemies

associate with those people

who—peaceful, good—

get others to accept the Dhamma.

May even my enemies

hear the Dhamma time & again

from those who advise endurance,

forbearance,

who praise non-opposition,

and may they follow it.

For surely he wouldn’t harm me,

or anyone else;

he would attain the foremost peace,

would protect the feeble & firm.

Irrigators guide the water.

Fletchers shape the arrow shaft.

Carpenters shape the wood.

The wise control

themselves. (3)

Some tame with a blunt stick,

with hooks, & with whips

But without blunt or bladed weapons

I was tamed by the one who is Such.

“Doer of No Harm” is my name,

but I used to be a doer of harm.

Today I am true to my name,

for I harm no one at all.

A bandit

I used to be,

renowned as Aṅgulimāla.

Swept along by a great flood,

I went to the Buddha as refuge.

Bloody-handed

I used to be,

renowned as Aṅgulimāla.

See my going for refuge!

Uprooted is [craving],

the guide to becoming.

Having done the type of kamma

that would lead to many

bad destinations,

touched by the fruit of [that] kamma,

unindebted, I eat my food. (4)

They’re addicted to heedlessness

—dullards, fools—

while one who is wise

cherishes heedfulness

as his highest wealth. (5)

Don’t give way to heedlessness

or to intimacy

with sensual delight—

for a heedful person,

absorbed in jhāna,

attains an abundant bliss. (6)

This (7) has come well & not gone away,

it was not badly thought through for me.

From among well-analyzed qualities,

I have obtained

the best.

This has come well & not gone away,

it was not badly thought through for me.

The three knowledges

have been attained;

the Awakened One’s bidding,

done. (8)

Where once I stayed here & there

with shuddering mind—

in the wilderness,

at the foot of a tree,

in mountains,

caves—

with ease I now lie down, I stand,

with ease I live my life.

O, the Teacher has shown me sympathy!

Before, I was of brahman stock,

on either side high-born.

Today I’m the son

of the One Well-Gone,

the Dhamma-king,

the Teacher.

Rid of craving, devoid of clinging,

sense-doors guarded, well-restrained,

having killed the root of evil,

I’ve reached the end of the effluents.

The Teacher has been served by me;

the Awakened One’s bidding,

done;

the guide to becoming, uprooted;

the heavy load, laid down.

Notes

1. This verse = Dhp 172.

2. This verse = Dhp 173.

3. This verse = Dhp 80.

4. This verse illustrates the kammic principle stated in AN 3:101. This is one of the ways in which the Buddhist doctrine of kamma differed from that of the Jains. For them, a person could not reach arahantship without having suffered retribution for every kammic misdeed, a process that could take many lifetimes—in the course of which, one might create more bad kamma, delaying arahantship still further. But for the Buddhists, training in virtue, discernment, and the ability not to be overcome by pleasure or pain could take the mind to a state where the results of past bad kamma would “be experienced in the here-and-now, and for the most part would appear only for a moment.” In other words, in the Buddhist teaching, but not in the Jain, the state of the mind in the present plays a major role in how the effects of past kamma will be experienced.

5. This verse = Dhp 26.

6. This verse = Dhp 27. For a detailed discussion of “intimacy,” see SN 22:3.

7. “This” apparently refers to the abundant bliss mentioned in the previous verse.

8. The verses in MN 86 end here.

 

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Thag 16:8 Aṅgulimāla — The Buddha converts a great bandit.

Aṅgulumāla’s story is told in MN 86.

There are 7 translations of this story in Chinese. 央掘魔罗经 is a classic example of 放下屠刀, 立地成佛.

Summary of Chinese versions:

误入邪教

鸯崛摩罗(梵Angulimala又译为央掘摩罗，央仇魔罗，央崛鬘，鸯窭利摩罗，意译指环，指蔓) ，是拘萨罗国波斯匿王的祭司婆罗门Bhaggava之子(或说宰相奇角之子)，名为无恼（梵ahimsaka）。生在舍卫城北方萨那村，长的俊美又聪慧。(PS. 或说, 有一贫穷婆罗门女名跋陀罗。女生一子名‘一切世间现’。少失其父。(参考-《央掘魔罗经》卷第一，求那跋陀罗译)

鸯崛摩罗到摩尼跋陀罗婆罗门处去求道，有一天，摩尼跋陀罗外出，他的妻子就来色诱鸯崛摩罗，鸯崛摩罗知道这非伦常，就说道：“我视你如母亲，这是清净之地，我希望你不要乱说乱来！”

摩尼跋陀罗妻恼羞成怒，由爱生恨，随即撕破自己的衣服，抓乱自己的头发，等摩尼跋陀罗婆罗门回来时，哭闹着要自杀，说鸯崛摩罗要行非礼。

摩尼跋陀罗当然生气，心生奸计，对鸯崛摩罗说：“有个升天之道，你必杀百人(有说千人)，把他们手指穿系挂在身上，才能洗雪你的罪恶，才能觉悟。”

鸯崛摩罗误信邪法，有冤不能伸，把心一横，像发狂似的到处持刀杀人。国内人心惶惶不安，他杀人后，只取手指作的项链。所以被称为指蔓（剁下每一个人的一只右手指，如花环般串戴在脖子），梵语就叫做鸯掘摩罗。(参考-《鸯掘摩罗经》竺法护译) (《央掘魔罗经》卷第一,求那跋陀罗译)

林中遇佛陀

鸯掘摩罗的残暴杀人，造成社会极大的不安。城中百姓都聚在宫外，大声急呼：“在国内名叫央掘摩罗的歹徒，凶暴杀害众生不可称计，唯愿大王前往抓来！”波斯匿王亲自带兵出城捉拿。从祗园精舍出外托钵的比丘们，听闻此事，回去向佛陀报告。佛陀听到以后决定救他。佛陀就从其座位站起，默然而行。

佛陀步行到杀贼所出没的地方之前。有砍薪负草的人、耕犁牧牛羊的人等等，看见世尊即将进入林中小路，就出声警戒说：“沙门！不可以从那条路去。因为这条路的路边，有一介杀贼，名叫鸯掘摩罗，在那里出没。村民非不得已要进出，都召唤数十人才敢勉强仍过去，有时还会被擒获。沙门瞿昙您独自一人没有同伴，碰上了只有死路一条！”

世尊虽然听到话，依然向前，并没停止下来。

基于母爱，鸯掘摩罗的母亲持饮食过去，鸯掘摩罗眼看没人再敢过来，取指鬘就差那么一个，

顾望四下无人，便作是念：“我的师父曾说，如能杀害其母的话，必当会生天。”

就在他只差一位就达杀千人的时候，佛陀看见鸯掘摩罗的母亲已经在去见他的路上，这是千钧一发的关键时刻，赶在他母亲到前阻止他。

鸯掘摩罗看见世尊远远地走来，他这么想：“众人成群仍栽在我的手上，这沙门却独行，就让我夺取这位沙门的命吧！”

鸯掘摩罗拿起刀与盾，背起弓与箭袋，然后从后面紧追佛陀。

使尽全力行走，却不能追到自然行走中的佛陀。

鸯掘摩罗心想:“实在不可思议啊，奔马跃鹿，都能抓住，但这位自然行走中的沙门，我却追不到？”

 

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